Seattle, Washington - The first findings from a nationally representative HIV survey were presented today at the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2012) in Seattle, WA. The Swaziland HIV Incidence Measurement Survey (SHIMS) found that overall HIV prevalence, or percentage of the population living with HIV infection, is 31% among adults ages 18-49. This figure matches the 2006 Demographic Health Survey findings for the same age group, indicating that the HIV epidemic in Swaziland has stabilized over the past five years. "The country continues ...

Scientists have discovered that blocking PD-1 (programmed death-1), an immune molecule that inhibits the immune response to viral infections, can have a significant effect on HIV-like illness in nonhuman primates. In earlier research, the scientists showed that PD-1 blockade could restore T and B cell function against SIV. Now they have new findings about the effects of PD-1 blockade along with antiretroviral therapy (ART). Vijayakumar Velu, PhD, a scientist at Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Emory Vaccine Center presented the information at the 19th ...

The hair cells of the inner ear have a previously unknown "root" extension that may allow them to communicate with nerve cells and the brain to regulate sensitivity to sound vibrations and head position, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered. Their finding is reported online in advance of print in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The hair-like structures, called stereocilia, are fairly rigid and are interlinked at their tops by structures called tip-links. When you move your head, or when a sound ...

Now clients may have applicants take 4 different tests available online and receive a report within 10 minutes 24/7. The web tests may be placed on the clients site or a simple link may be placed to B.R. Garrisons generic testing site. The new Internet system combines B. R. Garrisons 26 years in the testing business with new technology. The website tests include: Personality Profile in English, Spanish and French and Italian Sales Aptitude in English and Spanish IQ test in English and Spanish Math & verbal test Great for consultants, small business and ...

BINGHAMTON, NY – Nanoparticles are everywhere. From cosmetics and clothes, to soda and snacks. But as versatile as they are, nanoparticles also have a downside, say researchers at Binghamton University and Cornell University in a recent paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. These tiny particles, even in low doses, could have a big impact on our long-term health. According to lead author of the article, Gretchen Mahler, assistant professor of bioengineering at Binghamton University, much of the existing research on the safety of nanoparticles has been on ...

A recent announcement from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo saying that new capabilities would be granted to the state Department of Financial Services to help penalize medical care providers who abuse the state's no-fault system highlights the problems New York and other no-fault states have had keeping suspect claims out of those systems, according to OnlineAutoInsurance.com. No-fault or personal injury protection (PIP) coverage was originally designed to be an affordable car insurance policy that got its cost savings from keeping car accident victims out of the court room. ...

DALLAS -- UT Southwestern Medical Center investigators have identified a genetic manipulation that increases the development of neurons in the brain during aging and enhances the effect of antidepressant drugs. The research finds that deleting the Nf1 gene in mice results in long-lasting improvements in neurogenesis, which in turn makes those in the test group more sensitive to the effects of antidepressants. "The significant implication of this work is that enhancing neurogenesis sensitizes mice to antidepressants – meaning they needed lower doses of the drugs to affect ...

New York, March 8, 2012 — A new JDRF-funded study shows that many of the genes known to play a role in type 1 diabetes (T1D) are expressed in pancreatic beta cells, suggesting that the cell responsible for producing insulin may be playing a part in its own destruction to lead to T1D. Published in the March issue of PLoS Genetics, researchers in Belgium suggest this interpretation after producing an extensive catalogue of more than 15,000 genes expressed in human islets, forming the most extensive characterization of human islets reported to date. The researchers, ...

URBANA – When faced with a choice between a deluge or a controlled deluge in May 2011 that would protect the city of Cairo, Illinois, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers chose the latter by ordering an intentional breach of the Mississippi River levee at Bird's Point, but was it the right decision? "The decision was a difficult and complex engineering problem with significant social and political trade-offs between loss of human lives and loss of properties in urban and rural areas," said University of Illinois researcher Ken Olson. "But it was a calculated risk built on ...

(BALTIMORE, MD.) – The scientific journal Clinical Infectious Diseases has released its March Special Supplement focusing entirely on the research design of and pilot data from the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) Project, which seeks to identify the causes of pneumonia among the world's most vulnerable populations. PERCH, led by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in collaboration with 7 research centers worldwide, is the largest and most comprehensive study of the etiology of childhood ...

If you're a woman, older adult, or have higher levels of education, you're less likely to be sufficiently physically active. Those are some of the findings of a new University of Alberta study examining people's actual and perceived access to sport fields as catalysts for physical activity. "We know there are many studies indicating that the actual or perceived access to facilities is associated with physical activity, but it is not clear whether the perceived environment or objective environment exert stronger influences on physical activity," says study author Nicoleta ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University have tapped into the extraordinary power of carbon "nanotubes" to increase the speed of biological sensors, a technology that might one day allow a doctor to routinely perform lab tests in minutes, speeding diagnosis and treatment while reducing costs. The new findings have almost tripled the speed of prototype nano-biosensors, and should find applications not only in medicine but in toxicology, environmental monitoring, new drug development and other fields. The research was just reported in Lab on a Chip, a ...

Researchers announce today that they have completed the genome sequence for the gorilla, the last genus of the living great apes to have its genome decoded. While confirming that mankind's closest relative is the chimpanzee, the team shows that much of the human genome more closely resembles the gorilla than it does the chimpanzee genome. This is the first time scientists have been able to compare the genomes of all four living great apes: humans, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. This study provides a unique perspective on human origins and is an important resource ...

Johns Hopkins scientists have published laboratory data refuting studies that suggest blood vessels that form within brain cancers are largely made up of cancer cells. The theory of cancer-based blood vessels calls into question the use and value of anticancer drugs that target these blood vessels, including bevacizumab (Avastin). "We don't question whether brain cancer cells have the potential to express blood vessel markers and may occasionally find their way into blood vessels, but we do question the extent to which this happens," says Charles Eberhart, M.D., Ph.D., ...

Philadelphia, PA, March 9, 2012 – Imaging has been identified as one of the key drivers of increased healthcare costs. A new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School has found significant variation in the use of head computed tomography (CT), even within a single emergency department. Strategies to reduce such variation in head CT use may reduce cost and improve quality of care. The study appears online in advance of publication in the April issue of The American Journal of Medicine. A recent measure approved by the Centers for Medicare and ...

Coral reefs are among the ecosystems most severely threatened by global warming, but hopeful new evidence has emerged that some coral species may be able to adapt to warmer oceans. In a study published in the journal PLoS One, an international team of researchers reports that coral populations which unexpectedly survived a massive bleaching event in 2010 in South-East Asian waters had previously experienced severe bleaching during an event in 1998. The team analysed what happened at three sites during the 2010 event and found that in Indonesia, corals responded to higher ...

One only has to be reminded of the BSE crisis and the MMR vaccine scare to recognise the importance of having policy informed by the best available science. Now, a collaboration of over fifty academics and policy makers from around the world have come together to agree a new research agenda on the role of science in public policy. The findings appear today Friday, 09 March in PLoS ONE, a leading interdisciplinary open-access journal. The importance of using science for public policy has long been recognised, but recent years have seen a growing debate over how this is ...

LONDON – (March 8, 2012) -- Ecotourism activities that use food to attract and concentrate wildlife for viewing have become a controversial topic in ecological studies. This debate is best exemplified by the shark dive tourism industry, a highly lucrative and booming global market. Use of chum or food to attract big sharks to areas where divers can view the dwindling populations of these animals has generated significant criticism because of the potential for ecological and behavioral impacts to the species. However, the debate has been largely rhetorical due to a lack ...

Washington, DC – A new linguistic study of how individuals interpret various types of utterances sheds more light on how literal and contextual meaning are distinguished. The study, "A novel empirical paradigm for distinguishing between What is Said and What is Implicated," to be published in the March 2012 issue of the scholarly journal Language, is authored by Ryan Doran, Gregory Ward, Meredith Larson, Yaron McNabb, and Rachel E. Baker, a team of linguists based at Northwestern University. A preprint version is available online at: http://lsadc.org/info/documents/2012/press-releases/doran-et-al.pdf Within ...

A recent summit that brought together international multidisciplinary experts has provided a foundation for addressing what is the leading cause of disability in the United States: osteoarthritis. Currently, validated pharmacologic interventions do not exist for effectively eliminating pain and restoring function during progression of osteoarthritis, a disease whose prevalence is expected to dramatically rise within the next decade and inflict a huge economic impact on society. The summit, which was hosted by Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, is a first ...

If you've been thinking our world is more green than frozen these days, you're right. A recent study has found that spring is indeed arriving earlier – and autumn later – in the suburbs of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The reason? The urban landscape traps heat in the summer and holds it throughout the winter, triggering leaves to turn green earlier in the spring and to stay green later into autumn. The result is a new, extended growing season. Scientists used high-resolution satellite data collected over the past 25 years to look at the number days that trees have green ...

LOS ANGELES (March 9, 2012) – Rowan T. Chlebowski, M.D., Ph.D., an LA BioMed investigator whose research activities have focused on breast cancer therapy and prevention, and chronic diseases impacting women's health, is co-author of a study that indicates that women who use the estrogen-only form of menopausal hormone therapy appear less likely to develop breast cancer in the longer term, according to new research which was recently published The Lancet Oncology. A follow-up study of over 7,500 women from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial who took estrogen for ...

Researchers in New Zealand have developed a prototype Bluetooth-enabled medical monitoring device that can be connected wirelessly to your smart phone and keep track of various physiological parameters, such as body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure and movements. The prototype could be extended to include sensors for other factors such as blood glucose as well as markers for specific diseases. The connectivity would allow patients to send data directly to their healthcare provider and receive timely advice and medication suggestions. Writing in the International ...

Detergents are everywhere – in washing powders, dishwashing liquids, household cleaners, skin creams, shower gels, and shampoos. It is the detergent that loosens dirt and fat, makes hair-washing products foam up and allows creams to be absorbed quickly. Up until now, most detergents are manufactured from crude oil – a fossil fuel of which there is only a limited supply. In their search for alternatives, producers are turning increasingly to detergents made from sustainable resources, albeit that these surfactants are usually chemically produced. The problem is that the ...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter HEALY (WAGB 20) successfully experimented with NRL's TacSat-4 communications satellite, Jan. 24, by communicating from the Bering Sea off the western coast of Alaska to Coast Guard Island, Alameda, Calif. Returning from an escort and icebreaking mission to Nome, Alaska, assisting the Russian tanker Renda delivery of emergency fuel to the town, USCGC HEALY — Coast Guard's only polar icebreaker — was approximately 260 nautical miles south of the Arctic Circle at the time of the test. Deployed into a unique, highly elliptical ...